Jidouhanbaiki
An Automatic Vending Machine. Selling just about everything, but in particular drinks, snacks, tickets etc.

Kafunsho (pollen disease)
Hay fever - pretty common from February to April.

Kaiten zushi (revolving sushi)
Restaurant where sushi is served to customers via a revolving counter. The prices
are usually shown by the color of the plate they are placed on, though a new
variation is to make every serving the same price - usually 100 Yen.

Komainu
Mystical animal, half dog, half lion, originally from India. Temples are usually
protected by a pair of komainu. On the left side there's a komainu with an open
mouth, on the right side his counterpart with a closed mouth. The komainu protect
the temple against all evil, symbolized through the open mouth which stands
for "a" and the closed mouth which stands for "n", the first
resp. the last syllable of the Japanese alphabet, thus enclosing all syllables
and everything describable in the Japanese language.

Kotatsu
A low table with an electric heater inside, covered by a blanket. Unless you have central heating (and you probably won't), its always a good idea to obtain one before winter sets in.

Mikawa
The Mikawa region. The old name for the region of eastern Aichi Prefecture where
Okazaki is, and the name of the local dialect "Mikawa-ben".

Miso
Fermented bean paste. There are variations such as aka (red) miso and shiro
(white) miso, with Okazaki's Haccho Miso being the best in the world (and don't
be caught saying otherwise!). It's the key ingredient of Miso-shiru (Miso soup),
without which Japanese cuisine could not exist.

Natto
Fermented soy beans, often eaten for breakfast. Usually either loved or hated.

Omiage
It is a custom to bring a local souvenir from the place one went travelling
to. The safest souvenirs are local food specialities. A good omiage from Okazaki
would be Hatcho Miso.

Seiza
Sitting on your knees with legs folded underneath you on tatami. Used when you
are supposed to express reverence, or meditating. After anything from 5-20 minutes,
the average gaijin will often have trouble standing up.

Shinkansen
The very fast "Bullet Train". Nearest stations are Toyohashi, Mikawa-Anjo and Nagoya.

Yaki-niku (Korean barbecue)
Mega-populary "grill your own meat" restaurants. Seoul Karubi is one of the more popular in Okazaki.

Useful Phrases:

One of the realities of living in Okazaki is that not many people speak a foreign language with any confidence. If you are going to be staying for a while, it is probably worth learning a little of the language. Below are a few phrases that hopefully will be of assistance to visitors and those of you just arriving.